Disneyland, Seaworld, Universal Studios and Legoland; all names of well known theme parks that are ridiculously expensive. Every year, thousands of people during the holidays spend thousands of dollars to travel to these theme parks just to spend more money. Theme parks have taken advantage of the modern day consumer promising a “day of fun” while actually burn holes in parents’ pockets as their kids pick the largest and most expensive toys or games to play.

These kids aren’t just four or five, kids my age do the exact same thing to their parents. But the truth of the matter is, you can most likely find all the merchandise at these theme parks online for a cheaper price even if the memory of receiving it is not as important. The real question is: are theme parks worth the money?

Disneyland by far is the most expensive to get into, as the regular day price for one ticket is $105 dollars. On the inside lives some of the most expensive stores, and paying for food is extremely pricy as well. While I was there, my family and I ate at The Cafe Orleans. Now besides waiting in line for about 40-50 minutes to get food, it was $15 to $34.99 dollars per adult.

Seaworld, being the second most expensive park that I have listed, has a single day ticket costing $93 dollars. On top of that, if you add all day dining, the cost soars to $103 dollars which is still considerably cheaper than Disneyland.

The cheapest theme park that I have ever attended would have to be Universal Studios which costs $99 dollars for a single ticket. I understand that the price of this ticket is more expensive at Seaworld, but if you calculate costs for food, the rides, and attractions that are available: it is actually worth more.

It’s not my job to tell you not to go to these theme parks, but it is my job to inform you of these price influxes and how they could be cheating you out of your money. They won’t, however, cheat out of your memories.